The Identity of a soldier
by Sparticus328
Summary: Max blows up Manticore only to find a lost soldier escaped from the burning facility. Alec can't remember a thing. Deciding it would be a good way to start over in their aquaintance, Max takes him back to Seattle with her...
1. I Can't Remember

**Disclaimer:** Alright, I know...I don't own DA, but I wish I did.Satisfied? Good.

**A/N:** ok, everybody. you're going to have to be patient with me...i have this one, which i just couldn't hold back from you anymore, and "Being Who I'm Meant to Be". so, it may take some time to get both of them completed, butI will do it. Please, R&R.

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The Identity of a Soldier

**A/N:** White comes in much later in this version of the story.

**A/N 2:** Max went home before going back to Manticore to change and retrieve her baby, the virus is really slow acting.

**A/N 3:** Alec went back to Manticore after Max kicked his butt into submission...you'll see details will be revealed as we go...

Chapter One: I Can't Remember

He stumbled out of the woods wearing his gray and black military issued fatigues and gray t-shirt. Everything in his memory seemed to be gray, everything but her. He vaguely remembered a complex of fenced-in gray concrete buildings bursting into flames, and a figure which stood watching the explosion on an embankment then walk over the rise and head into the trees. He thought he recognized the figure on the hill, but forced himself to squash that hope. The man didn't know if he had been in the building or not. If he was in the building, he had no idea how he had gotten out. The one thing that he knew completely: he had been let down all his life.

He tried to make his way in the direction where the figure had stood. He ran as fast as he could. He remembered trees blurring by him as he ran. He stopped suddenly and put a hand to the back of his head. When he brought it down again, he saw a pool of blood on his hand. He was loosing too much blood. A brief cry of pain left his lips just before he fell unconscious. He had just reached the bottom of the hill where the figure had stood before.

When he woke up, he looked around to take in his surroundings. He was in a decrepit barn somewhere in a remote part of town. Somewhere beyond a partition he heard a rustling sound. A woman, dressed in a black cat-suit, leather jacket and boots, rounded the corner and looked at him skeptically.

"So, you are awake after all."

Alec heard the woman speak. He could see her lips moving, but the only thing he could think of was a name, a name that sprung into his mind the instant that he saw her. "Max."

"Yeah, I actually thought you might die, and then I'd be left with your dead weight to lug back to Seattle with me for a decent burial." He saw her look at him scornfully. "I guess I could have just dropped your body in a ditch somewhere, it's not like anyone would care." Max had to take a few breaths after that statement. That scenario was to close to how she left Ben. The fact that Alec looked like Ben didn't help much, either. To help her nerves a bit more, Max looked at the dirty floor of the barn, avoiding the face that mirrored one she had loved so well. "But I couldn't give the Manticore clean-up committee the satisfaction of finding your body to do God-knows-what with."

When she said the world 'Manticore' he felt something akin to hackles rise on the back of his neck. The only association he had with that word was betrayal. _They are the ones who let us down all our lives_, he thought with animosity. A low growl escaped his throat.

Max was disturbed with the fact that he didn't say anything this whole time. When he let out the guttural sound, she started to get a little worried. _Alec is not like this._ "What's with the sour expression, Alec? Do not like it out here in real life, do you want mommy and daddy to take you back?"

"No! Never say that." He really didn't know what he was talking about, but he was sure it was hell on earth. "I hate that place. They ruined my life. I'm glad to be gone from them!"

Max immediately knew that something was up. What? Manticore Golden Soldier Boy X5-494 not want to associate himself with the mother-base. Back on base before he helped her get out, Alec had been all gung-ho about the greatness that is Manticore. Now he just seemed very disturbed by the fact that he had come from there at all.

"Alec." Max's tone had turned very serious, no longer arrogantly sarcastic and playful. "What's wrong? What happened to you?" She may have not liked the guy since he came into her cell, demanding that they copulate because of orders, but she didn't want to see any of her kind this disturbed. _Don't get me wrong_, she thought, thinking of that night. _The boy has got a fine body. But the circumstances were all wrong. No way would I go after a guy if Manticore told me I had to. I would not give them the satisfaction._

He looked at the one called Max and thought for a moment. _Alec? Yeah. Alec. That sounds right. Especially when she says it._ For a moment he considered not telling her what happened, or rather that he couldn't remember what happened, but he decided he couldn't _not_ tell her. He just felt so dejected at admitting the fact. "I don't know…" He trailed off, still unsure. Then he decided, it was better than living with it alone. And maybe she could help. "Max, I can't remember anything."

The man in front of Max hung his head as if he were a lost boy. Alec? Not remember anything about Manticore? He lived at Manticore all his life. He was the perfect soldier; he believed everything Manticore ever told him. She knew that he was prone to lies, especially for sake of completing a mission, yet she did believe him. Something really wrong must have happened for him to not remember. At least he remembered the fact that Manticore destroyed their lives. Taking pity on him, and seeing this as a chance to start fresh in their relationship, Max decided to help him. "C'mon." She held out a hand for him to take. "Let's get back to Seattle. Then I'll help you figure out this mess." She calmly led him to where her motorcycle waited as she would a small boy in an unfamiliar place.

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**A/N:** did you like? the next chapter will come as soon as i can get it fixed. also, know that BWIMTB is my priority story. So, as I said, be patient, it will come. 


	2. Breathing Easy

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dark Angel...I've petitioned James Cameron for rights, he just doesn't want to hand them over... :)

The Identity of a Soldier

Chapter Two: Breathing Easy

Alec stood and took her hand, amazed at how accepting she was of his situation. He didn't know why he trusted this person called Max, but he did. He trusted her completely, believed everything she said. He could even tell when it was truth or sarcasm.

She led him outside the barn and to the edge of the trees. She let go of Alec's hand only to reach down and remove the foliage from around her baby. The black ninja stood before them, gleaming in the light of moon. She mounted the bike and started the gentle engine purring. Max waited expectantly.

Alec stood there taking in the image of Max on her bike. What a sight. Purring with life, the bike sat there with Max astride, waiting for him to get on. "Well?" asked the female feline transgenic.

"Right," Alec said as he too straddled the machine and the two raced for Seattle.

Max pulled her bike to a stop outside Fogle Towers, but before she could get off her bike she needed to get Alec off. The problem was, Alec sat quietly snoring behind her, slumped against her shoulder. If she hadn't been so worried about him, she probably would have just pushed him off, landing him on his backside. Her no-sympathy nature would have demanded it, just because of his prior actions in her cell. Instead, taking pity his new found memory loss, she settled for poking him in the shoulder.

"Hey, Alec. Wake up."

Groggily, Alec leaned away from the warmth of her shoulder. "Why? I was having a nice dream." Then he murmured, "A good change."

"Sorry, but there's something I gotta do." Max protectively placed a hand over her jacket pocket, sheltering the antigen within. She had gone through a lot this past year, and then some yo-yo at Manticore decided it would be great fun to infect a perfectly healthy female transgenic with a retrovirus specifically targeting her cyber-hacking sort-of-boyfriend. Yeah. Strange little life, no kidding.

Alec frowned sleepily at her.

"That means you have to move," Max said slowly. She nearly laughed as he blinked in protest, dropping his jaw. "I'm not saying you can't come with me, you just can't hold me hostage to my bike. This thing I gotta do, it's pretty life-and-death, you get my gist?"

"Sure." Alec got off the bike rather awkwardly. Wanting more than anything else in the world to lean on Max's shoulder and go to sleep again, breathing in a more comforting smell than stiff wool, concrete and steel. Instead he followed her up the steps to the lobby of the building, taking a private elevator to the lower-level penthouse. _Weird kind of place for a life-and-death._

Arriving at Logan's apartment, Max hastily whispered to the tall transgenic beside her, "Stay in the shadows and don't make a sound." She looked pleadingly into his hazel eyes.

Alec was confused at her rushed request, but nodded his obedience, and deftly moved to a shadowed portion of the hall where only Max could perceive his presence.

Max was only slightly surprised to see a girl in Logan's apartment draping cold cloths to his forehead and making sure that he was comfortably lying on the couch wrapped in a blanket. "Hey, did Logan tell you what happened?"

"Yeah, I'm Asha by the way." The blonde pulled back her hood and stared straight-faced at the other woman.

"Max," she introduced herself with an equally stoic expression. She pulled the vile of antigen from her pocket, the yellow liquid swirling within. "This is the stuff. It had better work, too, 'cause the chick who gave it to me already died. So, no revenge if it doesn't cure him." But her sarcasm fell flat.

"Right." Asha looked at the girl before her, evaluating her. She finally gave in, Logan trusted her after all, so she must be alright. "Let's do this thing," she said reaching beside her to take a syringe off the coffee table where she sat across from Logan.

Shot after shot of antigen, hour after hour of waiting and pacing, signs of improvement finally started to show. When Logan finally sat up to be examined by the watchful Asha, Max at last breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to die.

"He's going to be all right." Asha stood beside the transgenic, trying to reassure her that her … boyfriend … was going to live. "Welcome back."

"Thanks." Max didn't know what else to say. She wanted to stay with Logan, but didn't want to risk him getting infected again. She wanted to take Alec back to her apartment so they could finally get some rest. She wanted to make sure that everything in her crazy little life would be okay, crazier but okay.

"You don't have to stand all the way over there. You can come closer, you know." While Max thought, Asha had left the room. Logan was now addressing her, putting his glasses back on and leaning back on the couch.

"Better not risk it." Max watched him nervously from her place by the window. "We don't know how easy it is for me to re-infect you, and…that was the last of the antigen."

"We're gonna find a way to beat this." Logan gazed longingly at her, face firm with determination.

"Yeah," yet Max had a niggling doubt in her mind that she wanted to. "But you should concentrate on getting better." Everything had changed. The relationship with Logan was…different. It felt very one-sided, with Logan being the only side. "I gotta go."

"You know things are different now," Logan said in attempt to stop her. He didn't want to let her out of his sight yet. After nearly a year of being so far apart, even occasionally succumbing to the belief that she had died, he didn't want to see her leave him again. He did the only thing he knew to keep her with him, talk about her family. "Back when you first got out, it was just the twelve of you. Now there's a lot more."

"If they're smart, they'll lay low." Max edged slowly toward the doorway, but Logan wouldn't let her get away just yet.

"You don't want it getting around that you and yours are out in the world. People tend to get scared of things that are different." He glanced knowingly at her. "Keep your head down."

"Always do." With that Max got out, Logan watching her sadly from behind. On her way to the door she motioned silently for the very confused transgenic to follow her. Alec wanted desperately to ask her what was going on, but felt the need to keep his mouth shut so that Max could figure it out first. She looked rather confused herself.

Once they had gotten back to Max's motorcycle, she wordlessly straddled the machine and turned on the engine. Alec respected her silence, and followed suit, not even asking where they were going next. He simply let her work things through in her mind. Maybe she would tell him, maybe she wouldn't… It was her life after all. He was only in the dark about his own life, one more couldn't hurt. He was just glad he wasn't alone.

Max got little joy out of the ride home than she usually did. Her mind and soul were too overworked to get any pleasure out of running the streets with real power beneath her. Despite how uncomfortable it had been to be in the room with Logan, he did give her something to think about: What about the others? Would they know what to do? More than half of them had never even seen beyond the perimeter fence at Manitcore, what would they do now that they were well outside their field of training? Max didn't have any answers, which only added to her frustration over the situation. _I did this._ She couldn't help but blame herself. In her intent to take out Manticore, she didn't even consider the consequences the others would have to face once they got on the outside. She had unwittingly loosed an army of the genetically enhanced and altered on a world that most of them knew nothing about. She only hoped that they were smart enough to cope, until she thought of something.

Pulling up to a building that looked as if it was under construction, Max turned off the ignition. She glanced back to find Alec had once again fallen asleep on her shoulder, despite the shortness of their trip across town. He must have been exhausted. That and the gash on the back of his head still needs a few hours of genetically enhanced healing before it was all good. Reluctantly this time, Max touched his shoulder. Alec didn't wake at first, he only gripped his arms around her waist tighter, as if to stave off some horror.

"Alec." Max put a hand on top of his where they overlapped on her midriff, attempting to pries him from her. He protested by gripping still tighter. Leaving nothing for it, Max yelled, "ALEC, GET OFF OF ME!"

The male transgenic opened his eyes in a flash and relinquished his hold. "Sorry," he said meekly, still leaning on her shoulder. He was just so tired. "I was kind of out of it." He looked up at the building. "Uh, where are we?"

"We're at my place." Max patted his cheek kindly. "I wanted you to be _awake_ when you met OC. It probably wouldn't go over well if I brought an unconscious male into our apartment."

"What are you saying? This boyfriend of yours, OC did you call him? Is he gonna get mad if you show up with some strange guy?"

"No," Max stifled a laugh. "OC is not a man. OC…Original Cindy…is a girl. She's my room-mate."

"A girl, hey?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Don't get any ideas, Alec." She knew he was joking, but played along anyway. "OC doesn't swing that way."

"I wasn't, just registering the new fact," he nearly slurred with a new wave of exhaustion.

"Suuure you were." Max didn't know Alec very well, but she knew him well enough. Despite his lapse in memory, Alec maintained his crack-shot, smart alecking ways.

Max pushed Alec back a little further, as he had started to wrap himself around her again. He had the definite look of a child clinging to his beloved teddy bear. "Look, man. I know you're tired. If you just get off me, get off my bike, and go with me upstairs you can crash on my couch if you want. Seeing as how you don't have a place and all, and I will not let you sleep on the street, especially in this city. Transgenic or no, I don't trust your life to you just now, or anyone else for that matter." She wouldn't tell him that she considered it her responsibility to keep him safe until he got his memory back. Not only did he have no memory of his street knowledge, she wasn't sure that he could remember his military training, and she just wouldn't take the chance.

"Well, thanks, Mom." Alec sardonically retorted as he got off the Ninja.

Max wheeled the bike inside the building and onto the lift. She didn't trust Alec's life to the night of post-pulse inner-city Seattle, neither did she trust her baby to be on the street where anyone looking for a quick buck would steal and hock it if given the chance. Once on her floor, Max finally really breathed. She was home at last.

Watching her, Alec couldn't get over how alive she looked. In this place, she was comfortable. At peace. He noticed while riding "her baby" with her that she had a unique kind of freedom. But, before they got on the bike, she was slightly on edge, almost as if she expected someone to drag her into an abyss so black that it burned her eyes, so constricting that she couldn't breath, so restrictive that she couldn't stand, so eternal that it stole her very life…

"Alec?" Max brought him from his darkening thoughts. "Are you ok?" She had seen that look in his eyes, knew what it meant. But she didn't know if he knew what it meant.

"Psy-Ops." His voice quavered ever so slightly. He definitely knew what it meant. That word brought fear into his heart like no other ever had.

"You remember it?"

"I wish I didn't." He seemed to recede inside himself. "That place…It nearly killed me. I can't even remember what they did to me or why. I just know I felt like I'd been broken apart and would never be made whole again. Or happy. Not ever."

"I know. I'm not sure if they ever told you, but when Manticore" Alec immediately tensed "recaptured me, they sent me to Psy-Ops."

Alec instinctively reached out and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, drawing her to him. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that." This was another side of Alec that Max wasn't used to, a sympathetic side. Max was so used to dealing with things on her own. It never occurred to her to share things like this, then again there had never really been anyone who would understand where she was coming from. Max tentatively reached her arms around him, returning his hug. Even without his memory, Alec seemed to understand what this could have done to her. No one, not even Logan, connected to her like this.

"It's really no biggie. I mean, it's in the past." She tried to lean away from him, but he held on.

"But it is part of who you are. It's a part of _your_ past. Just as it is part of mine, albeit I don't remember much of my past, but it did influence me." His eyes grew sad.

Max finally really hugged him back, sensing his vulnerability. She clung to him, giving and receiving both support and comfort. "I'm sorry, too. Alec, I don't know why they sent you to Psy-Ops, but I know it can't have been a justifiable reason. Not ethically. I was sent there the last time simply because I wanted to maintain my individuality."

The door to Max's apartment opened and a short black woman leaned her head out saying, "Who in they right mind would be awake talkin' at this time. What you crack-fools think this is--?" She stopped abruptly when she saw her shark-blooded roommate hugging an unknown male. "Girl, please don't tell me you in heat. Or did you just pick up a stray?"

Max rolled her eyes. "Naw, girl. This here is a fellow freak, I just broke him out of the military science lab," Max sassed. "Alec." Max made a gesture of introduction. OC nodded, acknowledging him. "He's gonna bunk down here with us tonight, since he's got no place to stay. That a'ight with you?"

"Sure, girl. Hey, if I gotta have another cat in the house might as well be a fine looking specimen, jus' too bad it's male." OC grinned at her friend and winked.

"You can't go ragging on me. Can I help it if I have cat in my cocktail? I didn't cook up my DNA, some scientist looking for a score did that." Max let go of Alec and pulled him inside with her, following her friend. "And don't say a word about Alec staying here to Logan, if he happens to drop by. I think he would go fairly ballistic knowing that the man who tried to attack him ended up staying at my place. You know what I mean?"

At her words, Alec frowned slightly. What was Max talking about? Who was this Logan, and what does she mean 'tried to attack him.'

"Say no more, baby girl. It's between us three. Now if you two don't mind, I'm gonna get me some sleep." She hugged her friend and waved a goodnight to the new man in Max's life.

"A'ight. Night OC." With that she turned to Alec, expecting him to say something about sleep as well.

"I got a question for you, though." Alec had to know what he had done, so that he could face whatever consequences ensued.

"Shoot." Max looked concernedly at the other transgenic.

"Who's Logan? And why would I, did I, try to attack him?" Alec looked completely dumbfounded at the idea of doing such a thing.

"I really don't like not giving you answers, but I think we should wait until morning for explanations." Max looked worriedly at him, hoping that would be good enough for now. "We should probably hit it too. I don't know about you, Mr. I-slept-most-of-the-way-back, but shark DNA or no, this girl does need a few hours of shut-eye."

He nodded in response, eyes drooping slightly. "Yeah, you're probably right." With that he slumped on the couch and commenced to snoring.

"Faker." A faint smile spread on Alec's lips as she said the word. Max grinned too. He really looked comfortable here. It was definitely better getting to know him this way, rather than being at his throat for reasons that she just didn't really want to remember, reasons that didn't even matter anymore. She thought for a moment then went to the far end of the couch, where Alec had draped his long legs over the arm. Max reached out and untied his boots then, giving a mighty tug, had them both off and sitting on the floor. She grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and laid it on top of his slowly breathing form. _I guess he really is asleep now._ "Good-night, Alec," she whispered as she too headed to bed.

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**A/N: **Here it is, chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it...please R&R, remember no update unless there are at least three reviews... :)

**Review Responses:**

**lakergirl08: **Thanks! I'm glad you liked the start. I'll update as often as I can write it, but know that I am working on another story at the same time and will be heading back to college soon, so IOS might be updated in more long-term segments (maybe even months between updates, though hopefully not so long). Bear with me, and I'll get it out as fast as I can.

**J.D5:** No...Thank YOU! I appreciate that you like the way it's going...and I intend to have Max behave more...self-controlled...than she was in season 2...she did seem to be rather sporadic and mood-swingy then, didn't she? More is definitely on it's way.

**Alana84: **Thanks! I really like this one too. And I just couldn't keep it in anymore, had to share it. I have a pretty good plan for how I want it to go, it's just writing it out that takes time...fear not...more will come!

**electricgurl:** Thanks, and it will come...


	3. Pain and Puzzle Pieces

**Disclaimer:** I do not own, nor will I ever--sadly--own Dark Angel. I'm gonna go cry now...or write more fanfic :)

**A/N:** Please R&R, rmember I'm keeping the minimum--atleast three reviews--before I update, if I have the chaper finished. You don't know how much it helps to have the reviews...

The Identity of a Soldier

Chapter Three: Pain and Puzzle Pieces

One of the downsides of being a genetically engineered transgenic human with shark DNA was that you didn't get much sleep. But Max didn't mind. She had lived her entire life waiting for the night, the only time of the day when she didn't have to be responsible. She could do anything…ride her motorcycle down the road with the wind in her hair and not a care in the world; challenge another motorcyclist to a race, only to be sidetracked by overbearing sector police looking to be cruel to a girl. Max had always sworn that the night was the best part of the day. She couldn't understand how people spent their lives just sleeping away the only hours worth living for.

The only problem with being one of the very few awake at such hours was the fact that it allowed for too much thought. Max lay on her bed, clad in tank top and lounge pants, the image of total comfort. But she wasn't comfortable. Her mind was wild with thoughts. Alec, X5-494, her Manticore "breeding partner," was staying in her apartment, sleeping on her couch. Sometimes she just didn't understand her own impulses. But he was rather confused right now, and it hurt her to see him so. Even at Manticore, beneath the cocky soldier exterior, there was something unsettled about him. Max had reached out to that part of him when she had found him lying crumpled on the ground. She didn't know if he would get his memory back, or what would happen if he did. She didn't really want to know. For now she was fine getting to know the unaltered Alec. Not 494, not the product of years of hard core training. But Alec, the human beneath the layers of armor placed by Manticore. That was all she hoped for.

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Alec's dreams were equally unsettled, though of a different variety. He didn't understand what was going on. It just seemed so real. 

_There was a girl. Dark hair cascading over her shoulders as her fingers flew over the keys of a beautiful grand piano. He was supposed to know this girl. She had been important to him. She smiled at him. "Thank you for teaching me, Simon." Who was Simon? He smiled back at her, really happy for the first time in his life._

_Something was wrong. The girl began to frown at him. "I don't believe you." She started to turn away, to run down the stairs. He wanted to stop her. He knew that if she left she would be in danger. He wanted to help her, but she pushed him away. She slapped his face and called him a liar. Truth. He tried to stop her from going down to the car. He didn't want her to get hurt. But she wouldn't listen. He ran after her, hoping to catch her before she got there. He reached to doorway just as the car in the driveway burst into flames. No! He cried. But no sound came from his mouth. _

_He was being dragged away, down a long corridor. The walls were black and concrete, lined with iron doors at intervals. Cells, it was like a prison. No, it was a prison. As he passed the doors, unnatural animal sounds and human voices echoed. This was a torture facility. Psy-Ops. He tried to get away, but hard hands gripped his arms. They wouldn't let him go. He tried to tell them they were wrong, that he was innocent. Manticore killed the girl. It wasn't his fault. He didn't need to go to Psy-Ops. He was a good soldier. The girl was an innocent! It wasn't his fault!_

"_No. Stay away. Don't drug me. I'm fine."_

"_State your designation."_

"_X5-494. But you know that already."_

"_What did you do wrong?"_

"_Nothing."_

"_Why did you make a mistake?"_

"_I didn't."_

"_Increase the dosage."_

"_But I don't need it. I'm fine."_

"_Start the laser."_

"_No. Stop. I didn't do anything wrong!"_

"_Mission. Duty. Discipline."_

"_The mission was wrong, Barrisford wasn't the enemy. My duty was completed, I got the intel. Discipline wasn't required, Barrisford only wanted to protect his daughter."_

"_Increase the dosage, threefold. Initiate the laser."_

"_But I wasn't wrong. If we're soldiers, aren't we supposed to protect the innocent? Rachel was innocent!"_

"_Mission. Duty. Discipline." _

"No!"

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Something woke Max in the early hours of dawn. She couldn't place it at first. Then, she heard it. A soft whimper came from the main room. _Alec_. Instantly, Max was up and in the other room. What she saw was nearly enough to make her heart break. Alec looked like a child, fear etched deep into the features of his face, marring the designed perfection. He had pushed himself back into the deepest corner of the room, knees curled up to his chest, attempting to hide himself in the shadows. He was still asleep, though. 

As Max approached slowly, she thought absently, _they make us and they break us_. A low snarl escaped Alec's throat as she drew closer. He may be asleep, but his senses were fully alert. "Alec?" Max spoke softly, hoping her voice would coax him out of whatever place of darkness he was in. He seemed to calm a little, but when Max reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, his eyes flew open and he lunged at her from the corner. With her extended hand, Max caught his flailing fist and swung behind him. With a palm to his back, she planted his face on the floor. "Even against your instincts, I can still kick your ass."

"Are you acquiring a fascination with my backside, Maxie?" He asked half-heartedly. Adrenaline did wonders to wake even transgenics. Then his voice grew quiet as if ashamed for reacting with his instincts, "I'm sorry I attacked you. I knew it was you when I opened my eyes, but I couldn't do anything about it."

Regardless of the fact that he slept, Alec didn't get any rest. His voice didn't just sound tired. It sounded exhausted and afraid. Hearing it, Max let go of his arm and sat on the floor beside him, gently helping him up into a sitting position. "My God. Alec, what did they do to you?" Psy-Ops was a bitch if there ever was one, but this was beyond anything she had ever seen before.

"I can't remember," he breathed. He sounded so dejected. Max didn't think, she simply pulled him back toward her, capturing him in a hug similar to the one he had given her the night before. She only tried to relay any kind of comfort or support he was in need of at that moment.

Max didn't know what to do. He seemed so lost in his own mind, unsure of what was truth or what he was supposed to do. There was no longer any doubt in her mind. She did the right thing by bringing Alec to stay with her. He was not the bred soldier anymore. He was scared, he felt alone. But he wasn't alone. Not anymore.

They sat for a few minutes, until Alec calmed down slightly. He really had been reduced to nothing more than a frightened child. Max nudged him, hoping he would get the hint and get up. Max did need to get to work, to make sure that Normal gave her job back. But yet again, Alec protested to her leaving. Not particularly minding his presence, Max contemplated skipping out on work and playing dead for one more day. But then, that would probably not be a good idea. OC would definitely spread word that Max had risen from the grave and she would have hell to pay when she did go back to work. Normal would be in a royal mood and Sketchy would want to kill her for not showing up earlier, probably so he could have made a bet on how she managed to escape death.

Choosing not to risk Sketchy's elaborate money-making schemes, Max stood, leaving Alec to slump on the floor. Max thought about the change he displayed between his sleeping on her shoulder on their way back to Seattle and his troubled sleep when she found him this morning. His comment the night before about having a good dream for a change made her think. What could have helped him have more peaceful thoughts? Then she got an idea. Dragging him to his feet, Max pulled him to her room. Dropping him on her bed, she pointed at him and commanded "sleep." He frowned slightly, but quickly nodded and curled himself around the comforter covering her bed.

Max grabbed some clothes from her closet and changed in the bathroom. When she emerged, she greeted OC in the kitchen. Clad in dark gray cargo-capris and a red hooded pullover, complete with black zip-vest, Max handed her friend a cup of coffee. She propped her left foot on the counter to securely tie her sneaker in place.

OC watched the female transgenic from the corner of her eye. Something was different about her. She looked suspiciously to the havoc of the living area. The patchwork blanket which usually adorned the back of the couch lay in a pile on the floor, beside a pair of black army boots. What had happened here last night? Subtle as possible, OC leaned around the corner and glanced into Max's room. Sure enough the male transgenic she was introduced to the night before lay unconscious on Max's bed, though clothed just as he was when she met him. She turned back to see Max watching her.

"Nothing happened, OC."

"Girl, you know me too well."

Max shrugged. "I just know how you think," she winked at her friend.

"So, if you know how I think, tell me what I want to know." OC crossed her arms and sat on the barstool at the counter, one foot propped up on a wrung, the other extended to the floor.

Max sipped at her coffee. "Alec didn't sleep very well. Okay, that's not true…he didn't _rest_ very well last light."

"You mean he's got the shark DNA thing like you got?" OC dropped her arms, resting her hands in front of her on the seat of the barstool, leaning her shoulders forward.

"No. He slept, alright. It's just that he didn't have very peaceful dreams." Max bent, leaning her elbows on the counter beside OC. "I found him this morning nearly huddling against the wall. He tried to attack me when I tried to wake him up."

OC looked Max up and down, assessing any possible damage. If that boy had hurt her friend, transgenic or no, she would lay the smack down on his ass.

"I'm fine OC. I landed his pretty face on the living room floor."

"Damn, girl! And you just met him. First, you're hugging this hot-boy in the hall. Now, you lay the smack down on his ass." OC considered her friend with a new respect. That kind of treatment was usually reserved for stupidity himself, Sketchums.

"Actually, I've known him for a little longer than that. Don't bring this up again. Ever. But when we were back at Manticore, they had us paired off as 'breeding partners.' Just try to tell me that isn't the nastiest thing ever devised by Manticore. Bordering on torture, they tried to make the X5's get busy with people that they didn't even know. Much less, feel anything for." Max remembered the night that Alec had first shown up in her cell. She thought she was seeing Ben, and her heart had very nearly broken. First there was Zack giving up his life for her, now here was Ben reincarnate coming for a nighttime visit. Only it wasn't Ben. _"My designation is 494." Ben's had been 493. _Even down to the cocky exterior, this was not Ben.

"So what'd you do? Did you actually get it on?" OC was horrified at the thought.

"Naw." Max stood and leaned her hip against the counter. "He took off his shirt and I kicked him into the door."

"All right, girl!" OC held up her hand for some love.

Max slapped her hand, but bit her lip in thought. Considering recent events, she wondered if she should have should have been so rough on him. He was just trying to follow orders. Orders from a whack military instillation, but still… Manticore was all he had ever known.

"But about this morning…?" OC was still curious. Alec had seemed like a nice guy. Why would he try to attack Max?

Max thought for a moment. "It must have been a reaction to just waking up, immediately being on the defensive. It's a trademark of Manticore. Never sleep with all of your senses turned off, it leaves you open to attack." She straightened, leaving her empty coffee cup on the counter. "I don't know what he was dreaming, but it scared him. He was raw when he finally slowed down. Adrenaline is a kick in the pants, but it can't keep you going. He's been running on adrenaline for a while. He needed to sleep, but hasn't been able to rest because of these things he's haunted by." She debated on telling OC about the bike ride home. She'd tell her friend eventually. "I figured since he slept so well on my shoulder on the way back to Seattle, maybe my scent helped to drive away the demons of his past… So, I threw him on my bed and told him to sleep." Max glanced in her room. Seeing Alec curled around her blankets and sheets, she grinned. "I guess he listened to me."

"Yeah. And who wouldn't after you kicked 'em to the curb?" OC cocked an eyebrow. She glanced at the wall clock and stood reluctantly. "Well, you know Normal. If we don't jet, he'll be ragging on us all day for being two minutes late."

"I gotcha Boo." Max grabbed her pager and messenger bag, then stopped. "Just let me leave a note for Alec." Max grabbed a notebook. After quickly jotting down a few marks, Max found some sticky stuff and plastered each of three notes on the fridge, the front door and, leaving the last one on the notebook, the counter. "Hopefully that will hold him for a while."

Max wasn't going to let him leave her apartment until he had some different clothes, at least. She didn't think it would go over well with the general public if a man walked around town wearing military fatigues, speckled with blood from a head injury which had since healed. Not that the fatigues would bother them…Since the Pulse people did strange things, wore whatever clothes they could get their hands on. The blood wouldn't necessarily bother them either…People got injured all the time. It was the blood in combination with military attire that would freak them out. She couldn't blame them, it did tend to scream either federal incursion or gang take-over. Neither was friendly, and they would not be accepted in such a manner either. So, she would have to look around while she did her messenger runs for work.

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When Alec woke up for the second time that day, he felt refreshed. He wasn't sure how Max knew what to do, but the instant he landed on her bed and breathed in her scent he was at peace. He got up from the bed, untangling himself from the blanket he had wrapped himself around, he wondered why it was so quiet. Making his way out into the main room, he noticed a note taped to the refrigerator. Crossing behind the counterspace, he went to see what it said. _Food in here. Please don't eat it all. _"Real funny Max. You think I would hoover all of your food in one day." He grinned, at least she had thought to remind him to eat, sort of. 

He turned, thinking he would go find his own food, sparing himself the aggravation if he should eat all of hers, accidentally. But there on the front door another note was taped. _Under no circumstances, leave this apartment._ "Great. Max has gone 'mommy' on me again." He wondered where she had gone, it was too quiet in this place. Even OC, the nice black girl he met the night before had skipped off. Sighing deeply, he opened the fridge to find something to eat. After searching out a bagel and some cream cheese, Alec plopped down on a barstool to eat. And there, again, was another note. _Hey, Alec. Just so you know, OC and I had to get to work. Who knows what will happen there. Should be back around 1700 hours, aka 5 pm. I didn't think it would be a great idea for you to walk the streets of Seattle with blood-stained clothes, so I'm gonna try to find you some while I'm out. Please don't leave the apartment. There's no telling what kind of whacked-out people you could run into. Oh, and the food is yours, just remember there are two other people living in this place who also need to eat. See ya, Max._

Alec spoke to the empty apartment around him, flopping on his back tothe couch still holding the note from Max. "It's great that she cares about me and all, but I'm here all by myself. And there's no TV. I'm gonna be BORED out of my MIND!"

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**Review Responses:**

**J.D5:** I know, but Alec is all mine...well, Max's in this case. He will eventually get his memory back, but for now it's a struggle. The M/L thing will end as soon as possible...makes me not-so-happy to write them as a "couple." Over all, thanks!

**Jihino Tenshi: (from ch. 1)** I try, I try. Guess I succeeded, eh? Thanks, girl.

**Jihino Tenshi: (from ch. 2) **Thank you so much! I plan to.

**suenooneus:** Thanks for the note. It made me all giddy inside to know that my work is appreciated. I hope to get out tons before school, and during ifI can help it, but I make no promises. --school starts Aug. 31 so it's getting close... we'll see.

**Alana84:** Thanks, I like the way I'm writing Alec, too. We'll have to see how long it takes for the memory to come back, wink wink.

**lakergirl08:** Thanks, and I agree about Max. But I can understand her season 2 attitude, she was majorly stressed: she considers the transgenics and transhumans to be her responsibility since she let them out of Manticore. Alec will definitely remember. And White will show up as the evil overlord that he is...


	4. Same Old, Same Old

**Disclaimer: **I know. I don't own Dark Angel. But it's fun to think that I do :)

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**A/N:** Some of the conversation is taken from the second season, second episode "Bag 'Em."

**A/N2:** I hope you like it...please R&R.

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The Identity of a Soldier

Chapter Four: Same Old, Same Old

Max tapped her foot, leaning against Normal's desk. So far he hadn't looked up to see which one of the "miscreants" that he had in his employ had come to bother his morning coffee.

OC couldn't take the wait. The instant she walked through the doors behind Max at Jam Pony, she announced in a proud voice "Yo, everybody. Look who's back from the dead!"

Sketchy looked up from his seat on the benches near the lockers and was overcome with elation. He looked like the world had been lifted from his shoulders. "Max! Oh, my God…You almost scarred me to death." He wrapped his arms around her in a brotherly hug. "This is a joyous turn of events." He leveled a stare at her. "Now what happened?" he expected the truth. It may not have appeared to be a very close relationship before, but everyone knew that Sketchy had lost a lot when he thought Max had died.

"Well, well, well. Look who's here." Normal finally looked up to see who had caused the chaos of greeting noise. Max turned to see her boss stepping around the partition which separated the package caging from the couriers.

Max leaned back after the hug and smiled at her friend. She knew what it did to him to lose her, she had seen what it had been like for everyone when Theo had died. "What can I say? The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated…" Max rolled her eyes. She knew what was coming next.

"You, missy miss, are not employed at this establishment any longer. Your name is mud, as far as I'm concerned. I've heard every lame excuse for missing work known to man…but faking your own death for a three month sabbatical is a new low…"

"I did not fake my own death… It was a… medical emergency." Max made it up on the spot. But it wasn't even a lie.

"Care to explicate?" Normal looked marginally irritated. She knew that he expected her to fumble for a reasonable explanation.

"A heart transplant," Max stated. It was fact. She just left out the part about being shot in the chest, through the heart, and the fact that her brother had killed himself in order to give her his heart.

"Well, that's good. But, you had better have a note from your doctor or a prescription for cyclosporine, because I'm gonna need more proof before I buy that--" Normal began spouting his usual threats to her job status, but Max thoroughly cut him off.

So he wanted proof, huh? She'd give him proof. Max didn't even hesitate. She lifted her shirt up to reveal the foot-long scar on her chest, as well as her female appendages, but it didn't seem to bother her. Sketchy leaned over trying for a better vantage angle, but OC covered his eyes.

"Well, that's a nice, big uh…scar you have there." Normal stumbled. He was just about as baffled at seeing Max's topless body as he was when she tried to jump him during her heat before she was recaptured by Manticore. Women…who could explain them?

Obviously not men. Max rolled her eyes and dropped her shirt back down. "Yeah, well enjoy it while you can, 'cause it's fading fast."

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Alec paced the apartment. What was he going to do for the next six hours? There was sleep…or food… But Max would probably kill him if he ate all of her food, which is what would happen because there wasn't much in the small apartment. He could go out and get more food… No, Max had laid down the ground rules. Under no circumstances leave the apartment. Right.

But whoever said he couldn't find clothes for himself? Or that he couldn't defend himself? There were mostly Ordinaries outside anyway. Wait. What was that word? Ordinary? What did that mean? Alec's breathing increased and a headache began to throb at his temples. Rubbing them with the thumb and middle finger of his left hand he walked to the kitchen, dropping down onto one of the barstools. That was unattainable ground, his mind wouldn't let him tread in the precarious regions of memory. But there was something there, something that he was supposed to remember. Or, was it something that he needed to remember but didn't want to?

He groaned and leaned right arm against the counter, raking his left hand through his dark hair. Why was the truth so elusive? What did that sadist organization do to him to make him shrink away from the facts of his past he knew lay buried somewhere within himself.

He slumped his shoulders, dropping his forehead into his upturned palm. As his chin drove into his chest, Alec got a good whiff of himself. _Man, that is disgusting. I need a shower._ He scrunched up his face, standing and dropping his arms, he headed to the bathroom.

Closing the door, he stripped off his t-shirt and dropped his fatigues. Glancing at the articles in his hands, he wondered if Max had anything that would wash out blood. Pursing his lips in thought, he shrugged and tossed them on the floor in the corner. He would ask her later. Though, he preferred to have different clothes altogether, to burn the ones that seemed to wrap his mind in a hazy blackness, denying all memory from two days ago and before. He vaguely recalled a bleak existence of following the demands of someone more important, even if they made no sense.

Stepping into the shower, Alec turned on the water. Shocked at the temperature, he tried to adjust it. But it didn't change. It was probably part of the after effects of the Pulse, limited power…not enough to run a water heater. _Shucks, guess I'll have to make do. _He let the water run over his tense back. If it was warm water, the tension would have slowly ebbed away with the pounding droplets, but no deal. Cracking his neck, adjusting to the temperature of the water, Alec glanced at the numerous soaps that lined the wall. _Women are strange._ Alec popped the top up on one bottle and breathed in the comforting scent that had adorned Max's bed where he slept early that morning. _But they smell good._ He put the bottle down and reached for a regular bar of soap.

When Alec finished showering, he turned off the less than satisfactory water and quickly dried himself. Pulling on his boxers, he considered what to wear… Hmmm. Nothing. There was no way he was going to put on his crusted-blood covered clothes. Boxers would be fine. For now.

But he had another problem. What was he going to do now? He thought over his options again. Sleep sounded like a good idea, so he went back into Max's room. Once again curling up under her sheets, he drifted into a dreamless sleep. Thank God for Max's smell.

* * *

Max's pager beeped. She glanced at the number on her way out the door with her next run. _Crap, it's Logan_. Since the ordeal with the virus, she had come to dread his pages. This was the first one she had gotten from him since she got back, and she just prayed he would keep it to business. She couldn't handle the personal stuff at this point.

She called out to Normal as she walked back to the dispatch desk, "Can I use your phone?" Without waiting for a response, she picked up the receiver and dialed Logan's number.

Normal glanced at her before calling out another run. "It's like she never left."

The phone rang once then he picked up. She tried to sound casual. "Me hitting you back. What's up?"

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"Alec?" Max stepped through the door of the apartment, half expecting the male transgenic to be doing push-ups in the middle of the floor. When she didn't get a response, she glanced around. Then she went to her room. Sure enough, there he was sound asleep in her bed, though shirtless. "Alec." Max said a little louder, standing in the doorway. He kicked off the blankets and sat up straight, as if expecting his CO to be standing over him for inspection.

Finally recognizing who was there, Alec waved a sleepy hello. "You're back early." His voice was raspy from the few hours of sleep. It didn't even seem to bother him that he was only in his boxers and she stood mere feet from him.

Max took a few breaths, staring at the floor. He was a lot more appealing in only his boxers, sitting up groggily in her bed, than he had been at Manticore with his we've-got-our-orders routine. She looked up, with her heart-rate finally having resumed its normal rhythm, and tossed his new clothes at him. "Put these on. We gotta be somewhere." She turned around to wait in the living room.

"Where do we have to be?" Alec asked her from within the room, pulling on the clothes. Max was true to her word. She had found some suitable clothes for him and brought them, just like she said she would in her note.

"I got a call from a friend of mine. Logan said that there was some signal in the sky. I went and looked at this amateur video he had of it. The signal is from Manticore. It's telling everyone to regroup, rendezvous at a certain set of coordinates." Alec came into the room pulling on a black leather jacket. His olive-green cargo pants hung loosely over his black boots, black t-shirt draping over the waistband. "I have this sneaky suspicion it's only to lure them out of hiding for extermination."

"No doubt about that." Alec shuddered. "Manticore is the devil." He may not remember much, but at least he knew that.

"I want to go check it out, stop it if possible." Since Max was dragging him along with her, she thought it would be a good idea to keep him apprised of the situation.

Max led the way out to her motorcycle. "Try not to fall asleep this time. I might need your help." She straddled the machine, once again with Alec behind her, arms wrapped around her waist.

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**A/N:** I will update as soon as i get three reviews, and when i finish the next part

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**Review Responses:**

**J.D5: **I'm glad that you liked the feral part…I agree, it is one of the better parts of season 2. I like it so much that I try to put it into all of my fic ideas, somehow…I don't really give myself enough space to do it in my one-shots, but in the others that I'm planning it is definitely a fixed part… As far as sticking to the script outline, some basic aspects I will stick to, but others are bound to change. Thanks for keeping up with the reviewing. More to the story will come, eventually.

**Angel of Darkness231:** I'm glad that you like it. I'm trying so hard to keep my own angle on the story… that will be interesting as I follow parts of the plot-line from season 2.

**calistra: **Thanks. I hope you do keep reading, and that you continue to like how it goes.

**Alana84: **I know. It's awful to do that to Alec, but for sake of the story, I had to. I hope to get at least this and another update in before school, but I make no promises… Thanks for continuing to review, it really helps!

**HoneyX5-452:** (for the review of chapter one) Well, that's the first that I've heard of the idea being used before. I've read a fic where Max can't remember who she is, but not Alec…so it's original to me…I didn't get the idea from anyone or anywhere but my mind… But, I'm glad you like it.

**candyabble:** Thanks, and I'm glad you like it :)


	5. Listening to Mommy and Daddy

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel does not belong to me. It is the masterpiece of a mastermind by the name of James Cameron. Charles Eglee helped out too, I guess.

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A/N:** Lots of action! Action packed! Guns blazing, people running, getting shot in the butt—okay, just the leg—yelling, fireworks—not the fluffy kind…at least not yet—the whole deal. 

**A/N2: **Situation "barrowed" from episode 2 of season 2, "Bag 'Em." Of course, it has been spiced up a bit, by yours truly.

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The Identity of a Soldier

Chapter Five: Listening to Mommy and Daddy

They took Max's motorcycle nearly twelve miles north east, where they found an abandoned barn. Looking around outside, the two found evidence of junk food. In this area, that wasn't possible. Max looked sideways at Alec.

"They aren't too bright are they?" He smirked.

Max smiled, he had a point. "You'd think Manticore's finest would be able to go to ground and have the resources to keep their tracks hidden."

Alec shrugged. He couldn't remember much about being the "perfect Manitcorean soldier," and he wasn't sure that he wanted to. The two stepped through the door quietly. Seeing four lounging x series in their teens and one younger, Alec thought he would have some fun. "Daddy's home." Max looked at him oddly, a small smile touching her lips. She knew there was a reason she had named him Alec, short for smart aleck.

The kids all jumped, standing to attention with perfect salutes. "X6-787, sir!" "X6-809, sir!" They began giving their designations. X5-494 had appeared, they all began breathing cautiously. The 494 they had known was like a split personality. While in command, he was strict, allowing no errors. But anytime in off hours, 494 was never professional. He was always laid back. They didn't know which personality to expect. His opening remark came from his loafing persona, but they couldn't be sure.

"Yeah, whatever." Alec was confused at their use of numbers instead of names. Something was way more than screwed up with Manticore, but still it hinted at something. The numeral 494 flashed through his mind, but Alec stubbornly shoved it away in favor of the issue at hand. "What were you bozos thinking…knocking over a Quickie Mart?" He waggled the empty bag of chips in front of him.

"Sir?" The unit seemed confused. This 494 was an odd mixture of both militaristic transgenic soldier and sarcastic normal human.

"You have obviously never been on the outside before." Max took a stance reminiscent of the TAC officers. But she saw something in the corner, watching them. It still weirded her out to see the X7's. "What's that doing here?"

The kids didn't respond to her. Max frowned. Alec noticed their hesitance and ordered "Answer the question!" Max's posture demanded obedience, yet they didn't respond to her. They seemed only to give any answers when he asked or prompted them to. What was so special about him? He didn't know these kids. At least he didn't remember knowing them…

"He escaped the attack with us, sir." A girl who looked to be about fifteen years old with loosely braided long blonde hair answered.

"Attack?" Alec questioned. He didn't know anything about an attack. He remembered an explosion, but it wasn't an attack. The fires had been set from the inside.

"On Manticore." A tall male responded. He looked to be the oldest, about seventeen.

Another male spoke next, he looked to be about sixteen, but he emitted the kind of authority associated with the CO of a unit rather than an underling. He was the main voice of this rag-tag unit. "Command's been re-established. We saw the signal to regroup last night."

A red-blonde girl with short hair continued, "The rendezvous is about six clicks from here, south south-west. We were just about to move out."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but Manticore wasn't attacked." Max took up the debrief. "They tried to barbeque you."

The kids didn't even acknowledge that she had spoken. They instead turned to Alec for explanation. "Sir?"

He understood Max well enough to take the lead. "They're trying to kill us. The signal is bogus. It's a trap." He dropped the empty bag and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

The leader of the unit spoke up, confused, yet trying to radiate with the military bravado that they had been trained to use. "If I may, sir, that doesn't make any sense. We're valuable military assets, representing millions of dollars in R&D."

The oldest among them spoke again. It seemed he was searching for the truth. He wanted to believe what Alec was telling him, but was still doubtful. "Why would Manticore want to get rid of us?"

Alec smirked at them. "I want to get rid of you. And I just met you." Max nudged his ribs. That was not the way to win them over. But then again, they weren't listening to Max right now.

"We should get going, sir. They're waiting." The unit CO seemed impatient.

"What part of 'they're trying to kill you' do you not understand?" Max was loosing it. So, what? They weren't listening to her? But that was understandable. She hadn't exactly been a prominent figure at Manicore, so they wouldn't associate her with Command, or any higher authority. But it seemed that they knew Alec. He must have had some kind of higher position, they listened to him.

The leader of the group looked snidely at her. "All due respect, _sir_," he said sarcastically, then turned to Alec "but officers of rank superior to yours left standing orders to regroup when ordered to do so."

Alec waved a hand in seeming defeat, "well, far be it from me to violate the chain of command." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited. Max dropped her jaw. He was just leaving them to fend for themselves.

"Fall in." The CO of the unit stepped forward and turned to face the unit.

"I can't believe you're really gonna do this." Max watched them arrange themselves in ranks.

As they marched outside, Max went for her motorcycle. She trusted her gut more than the blind faith these kids had in Manticore. "Alec, wait here. I don't know for sure what's gonna happen, but I've got a bad feeling that if those kids go to regroup like the signal said…they won't be going home, if you know what I mean." Max was irritated with him. He just let the kids go, probably right into a trap, just like they had said…lambs to the slaughter. "If anyone else shows up, make sure they stay."

"Max?" Alec didn't understand why she wanted to go after these kids. In his opinion it was their own problem if they wanted to believe a lie.

"Alec, this is happening because of me. I let everybody out." Max thought about the ones Joshua had shown her in the basement. "Some of them don't even look human, but that's my family. I'm responsible for them." Max got on her bike, revved the engine and took off after the kids.

They arrived at the bridge, finding what they expected. Or so they thought. Men in special-ops black gear toting M-9's stood facing them at the other end of the bridge. The soldiers raised their weapons at the kids, preparing to take aim and fire. But before a shot could be taken, Max sped up the bridge and launched herself past the kids, ramming into the soldiers, knocking them down.

Max spun the bike around and shouted at the surprised kids, "RUN!" For the first time, they listened to her. But one teen wasn't lucky enough to get away unharmed. He barely took a few steps when one of the soldiers on the ground let off a shot that tore itself through his calf muscle.

Max hauled the kid behind her on her motorcycle as she followed the others back to the barn.

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**A/N: **Wow, that is the fastest that I've ever gotten my three requested reviews, and then some. Not to mention time enough off from work to be able to post up the new chappie. Hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to review.

**A/N2:** Next chapter coming soon, I'm almost done with it. Give it a couple of days and three reviews:)

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**Review Responses:**

**calistra: **I thought that might be appreciated.:)

**J.D5: **I like connecting my story to the series, helps in keeping it in perspective, I guess. I will probably have Max go into heat…though I'm not sure how to write it and keep it decent at the same time. We'll see.

**Angel of Darkness231:** Well, thanks. I'm glad that you think so I will continue when I have time to do so. Please don't be mad if it takes me some time to update after this…school and all that jazz. You know how it is…lack of time all around…blah, blah; woof, woof.

**lakergirl08: **Thanks. Though, White doesn't actually come into the story for a bit yet…He will, just not now.


	6. Scatter and Go to Ground

**Disclaimer:** If you've told me once, you've told me a thousand times…I don't own Dark Angel. Thanks for ruining my day!**

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A/N: Ok, one more installment of the "Bag 'Em" scenario…**

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The Identity of a Soldier

Chapter Six: Scatter and Go to Ground

Alec sat against a wall, bored. Well, he might as well have some fun if he was going to be stuck here for a while. So, he picked up an abandoned bag of popcorn and began chucking bits at the X7 who hadn't gone with the others. Something about the little schizo freaked him out. Something told him that the X7's always did. Alec wiped his tongue across his teeth, positioning his next shot. He let the kernel fly and beaned the miniature menace squarely on the end of his nose, but the strange boy didn't even blink at the impact. The next moment, Alec heard footsteps running outside. He got up to see what was going on.

Alec neared the door, but stopped when four of the kids he had met earlier came crashing in, out of breath.

"Sir, you were right." The blonde girl spoke, visibly paler than she had been only twenty minutes ago.

"They shot at us!" The oldest boy came in behind her. The boy knew he should have trusted his conscience earlier. The youngest boy and the red-haired girl followed him inside the barn. The girl with red hair directed the youngest member of the unit, looking behind her for their missing member.

Alec listened carefully. He thought he heard the sound of an engine approaching. "If you idiots let them follow you…"

They all watched the doorway in apprehension. Max came in, toting the injured X6. They all breathed a little easier, knowing it wasn't Manticore, but the next instant they were shoved into a field-op they hadn't been trained for. The limping X6, the apparent unit CO, had been shot in the leg. He stumbled as Max supported his weight, dragging him inside.

Max gave out orders, pulling the soldier to a nearby workbench. "Get me something to tie his leg off with." Alec undid his belt and handed it over. Still, mad at him for not standing with her in attempting to dissuade the unit's stubborn obedience to Command, she bit back. "I'll have to kick your ass later, 'cuz right now we don't have time."

Alec squinted an eye at her, unsure as to the cause of her hostile response. But he focused on the injured soldier. He quickly examined the leg. "The bullet went right through…We'll have to cauterize the wound." He pulled out a lighter, which he had found earlier in the barn, and a knife that he had with him when Max found him only a couple of days ago.

Max looked at him. Well, at least _some_ of his training had survived whatever psychotic experiment Manticore had done on him.

The redhead was still looking for answers. She looked to Max who had returned with their injured unit member. "What happened?" She turned from Max to Alec. "Why were they shooting at us!"

The X6 on the table convulsed. Max didn't have time to answer questions yet, "He's going into shock. Get something to keep him warm."

"I think I'm gonna be sick." The blonde girl looked down at her CO's leg and backed away. She turned to get away from the sight, covering her mouth.

"I bet that one flunked field-med." Alec couldn't resist he had to poke fun at a soldier who had no stomach for the sight of blood. He looked intently at what he was doing. He ran the flame of the lighter over the knife blade, heat-sterilizing the tool they would use to cauterize the bleeding wound, sealing it off from infection. He offered the handle of the knife to Max, "go." Then he moved to hold the trembling X6 down.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, this is gonna hurt like hell." Max tried to comfort the X6, obviously in enough pain already. But it had to be done.

She looked back down at the leg. As Max brought the red-hot blade to the skin, a sizzling sound erupted from the point of contact, as well as the smell of burning flesh. Everyone around cringed at the sound, and smell.

Alec noticeably winced. A hazy recollection reminded him that he was all too familiar with this kind of thing. "Hang on, hang on. It's almost over." He patted the shoulder of the injured X6, still holding him down as he tried to sit up in order to clutch at the pain.

As Max finished cauterizing the wound on both sides of his leg, Alec continued to speak to the injured transgenic. "Okay, it's done." The teen continued to convulse, more from the pain now than from shock. He whimpered in agony. "Hey, hey. You're gonna be okay. Alright?" He looked up at Max

"Yeah." This was still new to Max, seeing Alec take such care of another. "So long as we get him and the rest of these kids out of here." They had come along way since she had found him, but there were still things that she doubted she would ever get used to. She hoped that he would continue to be this Alec when he finally remembered who he was, rather than the one she had met at Manticore.

"We? Maxie are you sure that's such a good idea? Given the state of things." He didn't think she had forgotten so easily that he had no memory, and therefore couldn't be of much use. Well, most of no memory. "This was your idea, remember?"

"Yeah, so adapt. Whether you want to be here or not, you are here. And you will help." Max mentally reminded herself that he still had a butt-whipping coming to him courtesy of her foot.

He shrugged and went off to annoy the X7 some more.

Max left the injured teen, who had resorted to whining like an injured animal, in the able care of his unit while she went looking for anything they could use to get away. She found a burlap tarp covering an old truck. The thing looked almost seventy years old, and she seriously doubted it would run, but it was a possibility. She pulled the tarp off of the truck and lifted the hood. Evaluating its interior, Max decided it was doable. It would just take a little work.

The four uninjured younger X-series sat around. Without orders they seemed at a complete loss as to occupy themselves. Except the girl with red hair. She sat near an old radio, tools in hand, tinkering at its innards. Max smiled at the sight before her. This was her family, even Alec, who had taken up throwing popcorn at the X7 again.

"Alright people, fall in." Max stood facing the unit as they stumbled to form ranks, all except for Alec, the X7, and the injured X6. "There has been a change in your mission status: extreme and unforeseen…" She continued to evaluate their knowledge of procedure given the recent development. They were smart kids, they would be able to handle this.

"Yes, Ma'am!" They chorused to everything she said. Obstacle number one: blind obedience… _Great,_ Max thought sardonically.

Alec couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and walked over to stand next to Max. "You have to stop thinking of yourselves as soldiers and start thinking of yourselves as people. Seriously, if you're out in the real world, how do you think people will react if they see a bunch of kids speaking like they're recruits at a military training school? It doesn't go very well with the locals, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, sir."

Max rolled her eyes in frustration. "See, that's what we're talking about right there." She gestured at them. "You don't need to respond like that."

"Second. You should call yourselves something other than a bunch of numbers." Alec needed them to understand that, at least. Max looked at him with new eyes. She was usually the one to suggest names to the transgenics she met. It gave her a good feeling knowing that Alec also believed in the value of a name.

"Like what?" The oldest of the unit spoke up. The idea of having a name was intriguing to him. But he had no idea what a name really was. Back at Manticore, they were soldiers, tools, representations of R&D. They weren't people at Manticore, they were lab experiments.

"You mouthing off to me?" Max got up in his face. Alec smiled, this was fun. He was seeing Max in a leadership position over a bunch of militaristic kids. She wanted to make sure that they all understood the importance of being more than a government owned and operated mercenary. "Because I have zero tolerance for that. Got it, zero!" Max thought for a moment. "And to commemorate the special occasion, that's going to be your name: Zero." A small smile tugged at the corners of Zero's usually straight mouth. He understood. And Max hoped that he would smile more. "Get out on sentry duty." She pointed toward the door.

Without a word, Zero reached for a gun he had behind him and walked in the direction she had pointed. He absently thought about how Max presented herself similarly to the X5-494 he had remembered from Manticore…strictly military, then on off-hours completely comfortable being an ordinary civilian human. It made him smile wholly knowing that he didn't have to be a soldier one hundred percent of the time anymore. Granted, he would always have to watch his tail. But for now, he was okay with just the fact that he was able to make up his own mind, trusting his instincts more than what some brass in his comfortable office commanded.

Max turned to Alec, silently asking him if he wanted a hand in dolling out the names. He shook his head satisfied to stand by and watch her in action. Max focused on the next in line, the redheaded girl had positioned herself next to Zero in ranks. "I saw you messing around with that radio earlier." Max gestured to the abandoned equipment.

"I excelled in diagnostics and repair. I was trying to fix it."

"Fixit…that'll be your name. And that's what I want you to do with that truck over there." The girl paused for a moment. Max leaned in and whispered "Fix it."

The girl brightened with understanding. "Oh, right." And she jogged off with more tools to evaluate the condition of the truck.

Max moved on to the next in the line-up, it was the blonde, female X6. "You're the girl who threw up." The girl looked a little scared. Either a what-is-she-going-to-have-me-do or a what-is-she-going-to-name-me look covered her face. Though it was probably both given the recent events.

"I got this, Max." Alec grinned and touched Max on the shoulder. He looked at the blonde girl. "We'll call her Ralph, in memoriam of her upchuck reflex." The poor girl was so ashamed that she hadn't been able to stomach the sight of blood that she looked at the hay and dirt covered floor of the barn rather than meet their eyes.

"No sweat, girl. I myself have been known to give a fabulous show of stomach pyrotechnics." Max tried to make her feel better. "Though, it is a boy's name."

She smiled, grateful for Max's admission. "That's okay. I like it."

"Ralph it is then," Max opened her arms as if in acceptance of the name. "Go check on Bullet," she said motioning over to where their missing member lay.

Ralph frowned, "Who's Bullet?"

Max smiled. "The kid that got shot."

"Oh." And she ran off to see to her CO.

Max watched her for a moment, recognizing something in the girl that reminded her of herself, before moving on to the next mini-mercenary. It was the youngest of the unit, only about ten or eleven years old. He held a brass bugle by his side akin to the way a child his age might cling to a stuffed toy. "That yours?" She asked the boy, gesturing to the metal device.

He gave a small nod. "I'm in the bugle corps."

"Bugler it is." Max watched this small boy, he reminded her so much of her brother Jack.

He didn't seem to have a reaction to his new name, he simply stood blinking, waiting for something. "What's my assignment?"

Max felt a twang in her heartstrings. So young, and already used to following orders like he was a slave. "Getting some sleep."

"But it's not lights-out yet." He frowned slightly.

She smiled kindly at his innocence. "That's okay." She rubbed the small stubble of hair that covered the top of his head, a military crew-cut. "C'mon. Let's go find you some place to bunk down." And she started leading him away from the main area of activity.

Alec stopped her with a word, "Hey, Max. What about him?" He gestured to the X7 by the window.

"Tie him up and leave him in a corner," she said drily. Max had no use for the bat-brained menace. He would probably have someway to disclose their location, he with his sonar communication skills. She wanted these kids to have a chance to get away from here before they had any zealous military idiots hunting them down.

Alec gave her a pleading look. He didn't want to have to be the one to do that, the thing scared him just by looking at him. But Max was so in-tune with taking care of the smallest X that she had given the job to him. He shuddered at the thought of having to touch the weird kid, but did as she said.

* * *

As darkness fell, each of the unit settled in for the night. Eventually Max traded shifts with Zero, telling him she would take up the watch and to get some sleep. He gladly came inside. After checking on each member of his unit, he plopped down in a chair in their midst. Even though he wasn't their CO, he was the oldest, and he considered himself to be their protector. Now that orders were out the window, as well as their designations, Zero wondered if age and experience would take the place for a leadership role in a family, in contrast to ability in a unit.

Max watched each of the kids sleep that night, trusting her genetically enhanced hearing to fore-warn her of any approaching dangers. Alec had curled up by the wall, close to the unit, but just far enough away to allow them an escape. If danger should come, he wanted to be the first in the line of fire, rather than risk the lives of those younger than he.

Max felt the corners of her mouth perk up. He was so different from who she had met at Manticore. On the outside, he wasn't totally egotistical. He even cared about others above himself. Max went to sit by him, careful not to wake him. He had precious few hours of sleep since she found him, and she didn't want to disturb the chance he had to catch up on the rest. She knew that he at least hadn't been granted the wonder of shark DNA, dispelling the need for sleep to only an hour or so each night, if even that.

She gave one final glance over each of the kids. They were her kids, and they would be fine so long as they stayed together. Glancing up, she noticed the X7 had moved back near the window. Alec had done a good job tying him up. He just forgot to secure his bindings to a stable object, keeping him from moving around. Max was glad she was still awake. She didn't trust the twitching kid, she never would. The X7's disturbed her to no end.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there's that one…on to the next…this is fun to write… jumps up and down clapping hands "weee!"**

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Review Responses:**

**Angel Of Darkness231:** Glad you agree! The problem with your method for me, though, is every time I go to write more, I'd end up using the time to fix/change earlier parts of the chapter or work on a story that isn't even up yet… I will make it one way or another. No worries!

**calistra: **Thanks!

**suenooneus: **I will keep writing as long as I can…even if I can't keep up with the updating, at least the story will progress. I hope to update as often as I can. And don't worry if your reviews aren't "comprehensive." The fact that it's there telling me that I'm doing a good job makes me happy. So, thanks for reviewing.

**ontheDL: (ch1) **I'm sorry your computer bombed, but I'm glad you were able to find the story again. I know what you mean: Vulnerable is HOTT! Weakness proves that guys are human. --Holds chin and thinks-- I wonder if it's a girl thing…** (ch2) **You picked out the parts that I loved too. I can't explain why, but I had an awesome time writing that chapter…** (ch3) **Oh, he will, he will. It's just going to take a bit to get all the way there… **(ch4) **Yup! Sexy beast! But at that point Max is still not so thrilled about having her "breeding partner" around. But she does change her mind… **(ch5)** Too right, dude. The best escaped in '09, you betcha! That's why they need Max to help them out of a jamb…

**lakergirl08: **Thanks. I do try… That's a funny way to put it, "the softer side of Alec." Sweet, I like it!

**Lotamoxie:** Thanks! Wow, I've never received a compliment quite like that…and that's saying something. Season 2 was pretty good in its own right, but WOW! I'm glad you think so, smiles sheepishly. Thanks, again!

**Alana84: **Thanks, glad you liked them…I'm almost done with this scene…oooooh! Hint: It gets really good!

**J.D5: **Isn't it great! They didn't in the series, but that's just one way I thought I would spice it up a bit. I'm not sure how far I'll end up taking this story. I might mention the runes, but that isn't the main storyline… My other fic will get more into it, as well as another one that I have planned.

**lori89:** Thanks! Please keep reading!


	7. Cold Hard Truth

Disclaimer: Man is it hard to write for a nation-wide syndicated television show… Okay, okay, so what if it doesn't run on air anymore, I still own it. What's that you say? I don't? Gasp--say it isn't so. Sigh. oh, well…I can still dream big ;).

A/N: Hey, everybody! I am SOOOOO SORRY that it took me as long as it did to finally update this fic…I've had a lot to deal with, but everything is ok now… I promise to work on my new chapters and hopefully will have them updated more frequently.

A/N2: Oh, yeah…. Don't forget to review ;)

**Identity of a Soldier**

Chapter 7: Cold Hard Truth

Sometime in the night, Alec had awoken to find Max drifting. He knew that her shark DNA would keep her up for hours, but he doubted she had slept at all in the last couple of days. She would need some sleep. Silently he urged her to get some rest, he would continue the watch. Reluctantly, she gave in to his request. Resting her head back against the wall, she closed her eyes, promising herself that it would only be for an hour. Maybe two.

Alec watched as Max's breathing even out. For once, he wanted to do something for her. She had already done more than he ever imagined she would to help him. When she had dragged Bullet inside, promising to kick Alec's ass, he had the faintest hint of familiarity. Either she had literally done so before, or she had promised to. He had mentally shrugged; he had probably deserved it at the time. But still, he felt he owed her more than his life for what she had done.

Zero woke shortly after Max had drifted to sleep. The two male transgenic soldiers stared at one another. Alec watched as Zero looked from Max to Alec and back again. He nodded at the older soldier and turned to watch over his family as they slept. A couple of the teens stirred in their sleep, only to be calmed again as Zero placed a hand on their shoulder or leg. Any contact, it seemed, reassured the younger ones that they were well taken care of.

Alec watched the interplay and noticed how similar it was for him with Max. The night he had trouble sleeping, it only took Max's smell to get him to calm down again. He couldn't explain the response he had given that night. It seemed to be a subconscious reflex that reached out toward strength and security, something not often found within the walls of Manticore. It seemed to be that the only person anyone could trust while on base was themselves.

Daylight slowly crept into the low windows of the barn, illuminating the sleeping forms. With the progress of the sun, the transgenics woke to the first full day of their new lives and a freedom they hadn't known existed.

--

"Tie him up and leave him." Max had great qualms over whether they should take the X7 with them or not. She really didn't want to. But if she was honest to her self, and true to her training, she knew better.

"What if they come here and get him?"

"Who cares if they get him? I'm not taking him with us."

"What if they can communicate with him and he tells them about us and where we went?"

"Hmmm…"

"What?"

"Thinking." Max turned around, facing the wall to think. Turning back around, she called out "Hey, guys! Anybody know anything about X7s' operating systems?"

"Yeah." Bullet hobbled over to where Max and Alec stood. He gave a furtive glance to Alec, wondering why he didn't answer. Out of all of them, 494 had more experience dealing with the X7s. "We had to take special classes on the things. Manticore told us that we had to know how to communicate with them during missions, etcetera."

"How about erasing its memory?" Max inquired. She hadn't been back at Manticore long enough to have any such classes, and Alec sure wouldn't remember.

"Of course."

"They were designed—" Fixit grunted as she made her adjustments on the truck "—to have—memory swipes—after missions," she stood up and wiped her hands on a greasy rag, "in case anything when sideways in an op. We were even trained how to do it." With that she dove back under the hood of the truck.

"Regular X's," Bullet continued with his explanation, "can put up with massive amounts of torture, never giving anything away. With these bat-brained things, all the enemy would need is a computer geek with a digital receiver to download its entire memory bank."

"So…" Max waved her hand, "How do you wipe its memory?"

"We'd need a remote." Ralph spoke up.

"In that case, we'll have to take him with us." Max turned to Alec, "That friend I told you about, he can probably do something about this." She turned to look at the X7. "But after that, I'm cementing his feet, tying his arms and dropping him in the Pacific."

"Sweet! I'm in with that plan." Fixit removed her torso out from under the hood of the truck again. "I almost have it. Hey, Zero! Try the key!"

"Sure thing, li'l sis." Zero climbed up into the cab of the truck.

"Grrr. Call me that again, and I promise I will kick your ass so hard it will take a week even for a transgenic to heal the bruise!" Fixit hollered while the engine ground.

Max smiled. Only a couple of days and already she was rubbing off on them. Give it a full week and they'd be as independent as any other person in this broken world.

Fixit shook her head, shrugging off her aggression. "A couple seconds to adjust the timing and we're good to go."

Just then the engine died. "What happened?" Zero demanded.

"I don't know." The red-head began taking the spark plugs out one by one. She rubbed corrosion off from a few before replacing them. "Try it again."

Zero cranked the key and the engine roared to life.

"Alright." Max turned to the rest of them, "Everybody load in. I'll grab popcorn."

"Max, who's Popcorn?" Bugler stopped in is dash for the truck.

"The X7." Max smiling, winked at the small boy.

"But, why 'Popcorn'?" Buglers small face contorted in confusion.

She nodded toward the tall transgenic leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. "Ask Alec." Max grabbed a rope and headed to where the X7 stood blinking at their movements.

Bugler turned to the other X5.

"What did I do now?" Alec complained, throwing his arms out.

"Alec," Max spoke as she pulled the ropes tight around the arms and legs of the X7, "I'm not blaming you for anything. Why do you think I think everything is your fault."

Alec shrugged. "I don't know. Just like I don't know a damned thing about anything." Yet, deep inside, Alec felt like there was indeed a reason.

"You're just being pessimistic. And I _don't_ think everything is your fault, by the way."

"Okay… So what, I threw popcorn at it. Not like the thing reacted or anything. At all… Didn't do anything 'cept make me even more bored."

"Well, call it inspirational, 'cuz that's how the thing got a name." She hoisted Popcorn onto her shoulder and headed to the truck, dropping the X7 through the back window. "And, don't get pessimistic. You still remember some of your training." She tied the X7 in place, reducing his chance for it to escape and tell his friends what fun it's been having with a couple rogue Xs.

"Field med is one thing though. And I didn't do much…I just sterilized a jack-knife. I don't know if I remember anything else, or if that was even remembering or something that made logical sense."

"Let's see. Let's find out if you remember." Max shut the gate of the truck and moved toward the other X5, dropping into a fighting stance only feet away.

Alec stood still, eyeing her, unsure of what to do.

Max sighed. She just had to go for it. She punched hard at his solar plexus, but Alec easily blocked her move, dropping into his own fighting position.

From the truck, the waiting younger X's watched as their former CO fought the female they had come to respect. It was amazing for them to see the spontaneous sparring match. They had watched the older X series spar before, of course, but this was an entirely different caliber. Max was testing Alec, they knew. It was like an instructional review, only rather than watch him fight, Max chose to fight Alec herself. That way she could really tell if it was his training he was remembering or self-preservation alone.

The two X5's sparred for a good fifteen minutes before Max stood up straight and nodded approvingly. "Good news, Pretty Boy. You pass the test. Seems like your training has to be provoked before you can use it, though."

"Test? I thought you were giving me my promised ass-kicking," he replied smartly.

"I was," she said heading to the truck once again. Passing Alec, she kicked her foot up behind her and smacked his butt with the outside of her foot. "There ya go."

Alec followed Max to the truck, sticking his tongue out at her.

"I don't think so, kid," Alec waved his thumb at Zero pointing to the back seat, who sat waiting behind the wheel of the truck.

"Uh-uh. Man. I'm gonna drive!" Max eyed the teen. "Alright! I'll go!" Zero complied, climbing over the back of the bench seat to sit behind the driver, next to Fixit.

Max climbed in, picking Bugler up and sitting him on her lap. Alec followed her into the truck, taking his place behind the wheel.

"Alright kids. Road trip!" Alec put the truck in gear and drove out of the barn onto an abandoned dirt road. "So, what do you want to sing: '99 bottles' or 'the wheels on the bus'?" Everyone groaned. Alec couldn't help but laugh at their pained response.

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A/N: Well? You like? Please review.

A/N2: The next chapter is in the works, should be up soon. I am now working on four in-progress stories! ….Bear with me.


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